Editorial: Promising progress on Zika virus

It was just a couple of years ago that Zika virus outbreaks were spreading fear across the globe, spurring a worldwide initiative to develop a vaccine. Now, it is with much hope and pride that we hear news that University of Hawaii medical school researchers have developed a potential vaccine.

Kudos go to scientists at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, who have proven the effectiveness of a vaccine in protecting both mice and monkeys from the Zika infection, a major milestone. UH is now partnering with Hawaii Biotech to develop the vaccine for clinical trials: this regimen of two immunizations given three weeks apart is a “potentially safer alternative” to research elsewhere.

Dr. Axel Lehrer, assistant professor of tropical medicine and infectious disease, led the UH team that includes senior graduate students Liana Medina and Albert To, a Honolulu native and Roosevelt High graduate.

The virus, which can cause birth defects when women are infected during pregnancy, is found mostly in Africa, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia, Central and South America and Mexico. Only as recently as 2007 did outbreaks occur outside of Africa. In 2016, Zika became headline news in the U.S., when a Hawaii baby was born with brain damage linked to Zika, contracted during the pregnant mother’s time in Brazil; and local transmissions reported around Miami, Fla., and Brownsville, Texas. Also that year, outbreaks in Brazil had many worried about attending the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Zika is spread by infected mosquitoes and through sex. Luckily, there have been no mosquito transmissions of Zika in the U.S. this year, but health officials predict more outbreaks are just a matter of time. That’s why we wish all scientists working on this public health problem, especially Hawaii’s own, speedy and sustained success.